Press Release

Minimum Wage Workers Highlight Need for Growth Strategy

(Washington, D.C.) - While fast food workers are striking today in support of minimum wage increases, data from the Obama administration show how little benefit such a change would deliver to working families. In fact it may hurt as many as it helps. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), only 644,000 U.S. Hispanic workers - less than 3% - earn at or below the minimum wage. And the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has found that the proposed minimum wage increase would cost a half million minimum-wage workers their jobs. At the same time, just 19 percent of the benefits would go to families at or below the poverty line - while far more would go to those earning more than 3 times the poverty level.

Reducing the federal regulatory burden however, would generate growth that helps all American workers. Government regulations currently cost our economy $1.75 trillion each year - with $236 billion in new federal regulations added in 2012 alone. Research from the World Bank in fact, shows that a 10 percent increase in regulatory cost can reduce economic growth by thousands of dollars per person, per year.

Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative, released the following statement:

"These workers and protesters have a legitimate complaint. If there's one clear message the LIBRE team is hearing around the country, it's that wages are down and people can't keep up with the higher cost of food, health care, education, gas, electricity, and more. It's not just low-wage workers who deserve a raise - all working Americans do. But rising wages can't be delivered just by a government mandate. It takes economic growth, increased hiring, and competition for talented workers. And Washington can help - if our president and Congress would simply work together on a common sense plan to unleash real economic growth, rather than continuing to impose new regulations.

The solution won't come from more government or more mandates- no matter how simple they sound. We know that regulations are stifling economic growth and making it harder for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and expand hiring. We know government borrows, spends, and taxes too much. It's time to rein in spending, reduce the federal deficit, and limit the unnecessary regulations that hurt growth and depress wages."